BEA'S BOOK NOOK
"I can't imagine a man really enjoying a book and reading it only once." C. S. Lewis
“If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.” ― Oscar Wilde

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Bea Reviews The Art Whisperer by Charlotte & Aaron Elkins

Publisher: Thomas & MercerSeries: Alix London #3Format Read: Kindle bookSource: the publisher in exchange for an honest reviewRelease Date: August 19, 2014Buying Links:Amazon* | Book Depository* | Barnes & Noble |
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

When art conservator
Alix London spots a forgery, she knows trouble will follow. So she’s
understandably apprehensive when her connoisseur’s eye spots something
off about a multimillion-dollar Jackson Pollock painting at Palm
Springs’s Brethwaite Museum—her current employer.Alix is already
under fire, the object of a vicious online smear campaign. Now the
Brethwaite’s despicable senior curator, obsessed with the “maximization
of monetized eyeballs,” angrily refuses to decommission the celebrated
Pollock piece. But it’s only when a hooded intruder attacks Alix in her
hotel room that the real trouble begins. And when FBI Special Agent Ted
Ellesworth—with whom Alix had inadvertently, but thoroughly, botched a
budding relationship just a year prior—turns up to investigate the
Pollock, Alix knows she’s about to have her hands full.In her
third mystery, Alix London must see through mirages in the desert to
uncover the knotted history of the painting—and save herself in the
process.

Bea's Thoughts:

Despite it being the third book in the series, I had no trouble reading this as a stand-alone.It's primarily a mystery but there's a romance also. Alix is an art conservator, hired on a temporary basis to clean up some paintings before they go to auction. When she gets to the museum, she finds strife, politics, and chaos. The chaos and strife are primarily the work of a new supervisor who delights in pitting the employees against each other and making their lives difficult. While Alix is dealing with this, she also has to deal with an online smear campaign and a painting that she feels may be a fake. Then she gets attacked, followed by some murders. There are more murders and murder attempts, fake works of art, and romance; a lot happens in this book.

The Elkins' have a dry sense of humor and this scene made me laugh out loud:

Three smart phones were immediately whipped out of their hiding places and flicked on. Alix knew better than to compete with smart phones, so she just shut up and sipped water while they read...

Despite everything going on, there's not a lot of tension and there's too much exposition. But the mysteries are well done and the characters, both primary and secondary, are interesting. Alix's father and his friend Tiny were intriguing and I'd love to see more of them. The killer's identity took me completely by surprise. While convoluted, a little too much for my taste, it made sense. The locale is worked into the story and becomes part of the story; it's not Anytown, USA but has its own character. It was also a pleasure to learn more about the art world and the care and restoration of paintings. While I didn't love the book, I did enjoy it and will probably read more in the series.

Good review, Bea! I think you've pinpointed both the strengths and weaknesses of this series. The Elkins are really, really good at conveying the uniqueness of each location where their books are set. I've enjoyed both the previous books and I like Alix - and her dad. I'm still on the fence about the love interest (assuming it's the same guy - the FBI undercover art guy?) I can start to get annoyed with romantic tension that never gets resolved; I like relationships to go somewhere. But that said, these have been a lot of fun to read. In fact, I've got this one on my Kindle for whenever I take a break from reading ARCs!

Health Note

I've got a shoulder injury, the exact nature of which my doctor is still determining. But it's affecting my ability to type. So posts will be delayed, and comments on other blogs, as well as my own, are on hiatus until typing is less painful or not painful at all.

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